Awoken Into Darkness
by HarmoniaRose
Summary: When Hermione is petrified by the basilisk in second year, healers are perplexed when she never awakens. But what is more perplexing is when on the seventh anniversary of her petrification Hermione Granger goes missing.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a day just like any other. Students sat slumped in wooden desks in various classrooms around the school while their professors stood tall in front (unless you were Professor Flitwick) and gave the latest homework assignment. Some brave students protested because that very afternoon was the first quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. To no avail, homework was still assigned.

When the bell sounded round the castle, the corridors became the sites for stampedes. Boys and girls clamored over each other to get to their house quarters in order to ready themselves for the match. Frightened little first years were swallowed by the ocean of upperclassmen and spat back out into random crevices in the walls or unused classrooms. Many times one would emerge with strange bruises and empty pockets.

In spite of all the chaos, Albus Dumbledore sat serenely in his office as he gazed at letters and documents that dominated his worn desk. With a withered but skillful hand, he eased his half-moon spectacles from where they had slipped to the tip of his nose back to the bridge where they most comfortably laid. Though the skin on his face had grown lined and thin, his eyes still reflected the wisdom and curiosity of his true nature. No one could deny however that Dumbledore was of his own kind. With a long white beard that could easily be tucked into the rope binding his sapphire robes and the many odd trinkets decorating his office, some might underestimate his abilities and classify him as a weak and ignorant old wizard, which was truly not the case.

As Dumbledore was getting ready to leave for the quidditch arena, a knock on the door stopped him.

"Come in," said Dumbledore.

Minerva McGonagall entered quickly and shut the door behind her.

"I'm afraid the match will have to be postponed, Headmaster," McGonagall gasped as if she were out of breath. Her face was chalky white, and her dark eyes glistened slightly.

"Whatever is the matter, Minerva?" inquired Dumbledore seriously.

McGonagall wiped at her eyes with a handkerchief and took a few deep breaths took collect herself.

"I'm afraid," she said in a stronger voice, "that there has been another attack."

Dumbledore sighed. "Who was it this time?" he asked gravely.

"Hermione Granger."

The victims of the basilisk were all cured and returned to their normal lives in a matter of months. All except one Second Year, bushy haired girl. Days went by, which turned into weeks, then months, then entire years. Healers from all over the country came to try to figure out the mystery of Hermione Granger, but to no avail. No spell or potion could awaken the petrified girl. She became a permanent patient at St. Mungos and was visited often by her parents and best friends, Harry and Ron.

This all changed, however, on the seventh anniversary of her petrification when Hermione Granger went missing.

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**A/N: I know this is super short but thanks so much for reading! Future chapters will definitely be longer don't worry, I just wanted to give a little taste before I threw it all out there. Reviews are very much appreciated! :)**

**-HarmoniaRose**


	2. The Awakening

Chapter 1: The Awakening

A young man, barely twenty years of age stood in the kitchen of a small cottage as he diligently but carefully sprinkled and poured ingredients into a large cauldron. Though seemingly focused on the creation of such a complicated potion, the man's mind was elsewhere. Taking his eyes off the potion he glanced at the silver watch on his wrist; it was half past two in the morning.

Where are they? They should be here by now,

the man thought irritably. _The potion is almost ready._

With a flick of his wand the potion began to simmer. He watched as the contents of the cauldron swirled around and dissolved in the heat. Satisfied with his handiwork, the man allowed his eyes to drift toward the circular window that overlooked the black waves of the sea. There was just enough moonlight that he could make out the few shells that scattered the beach. And then he saw it, a flash on a hill just close enough along the beach that it was still visible and could only mean one thing. The portkey had arrived, and they had the girl.

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"Careful, be careful! Set her down on the bed and be gentle about it for once, Dolohov." The man glared at the other men as they heaved the stone girl onto the small bed. He then returned to the potion in the kitchen and produced a small vial from the inside of his robes. He tipped the cauldron slightly and let the deep blue liquid slide into the vial.

"Will it work?"

He turned around slowly and stared at the man front of him. "Are you questioning my abilities, Nott?" he asked quietly.

Nott's eyes widened.

"N-no, no of course not," he stuttered. "I-I was only-"

"Reassuring yourself?" the man finished. "There is no need. You will be long gone by the time she awakens. She will know nothing of you, and you of her."

_For now, _he added in his head as an afterthought. Though he wasn't the least bit worried about a flaw in the potion, he did wonder how his plan would play out once she was awake. He knew of her exceeding intelligence and was not ignorant to the curiosity that accompanied it. However, she could be quite unpredictable…. He dismissed that thought instantly. There were more pressing matters at hand.

The rest of the Death Eaters trudged into the kitchen. They were all dressed in black robes and looked like they hadn't slept in days. Of course, the man wasn't worried about this, actually he couldn't care less. There was work to be done. And if he couldn't oblige himself to sleep then they certainly could not.

He became aware that there was a missing presence as he looked around at the men. "Where is Draco?"

The Death Eaters grunted nervously and shifted their weight from one foot to the other.

"I said," the man demanded more forcefully, with emphasis on every word, "where is Draco Malfoy?"

More grunting and nervous glances at each other. The man glared around at each one.

"He's not here," said Macnair quietly.

The man stared at him. "Not here," he repeated. Suddenly he began laughing, and a few others joined in nervously, though it was obvious they didn't know what they were laughing about.

The man finally resolved himself and looked back to Macnair. His humorless smile vanished, and his dark eyes glinted dangerously. "Do you mock me, Macnair? You answered my question with a statement of obviousness that could only be assumed as sarcasm. Is it humoring to you to make me look like a fool? Tell me, Macnair," he said quietly threatening, with all traces of past amusement gone, "do I look like an ignorant fool to you?"

Macnair gaped at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping at waterless air. "N-no," he stuttered. "No of course not, I w-was merely-"

"Draco Malfoy is at his manor."

The man turned toward the interrupter. It was Avery.

"At his manor." The man scrutinized Avery, then the rest of the men. He began to pace the length of the room. When he reached the window overlooking the beach he stopped. "Why would he be there? He's missing out on all the fun." He turned around and grinned darkly. "And we can't have that, can we?"

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When the Death Eaters were long gone, the man returned to the room where the girl lay. Her whole body was the color of ash, not excluding her clothes. She still had the build and looks of a second year. This was the only thing the man was unsure of. When he gave her the potion would she still be twelve? Or would she transform to fit her actual age? If the former was true, then the petrifying of her for so many years would have been pointless.

"I guess we'll find out," he murmured.

The man willed the lights in the small room to dim. From inside his robes, he pulled out an old fashioned set of pipes. Carved into the wood were many runes and designs. The man pressed the wood just under his lower lip and began to blow gently through the pipes. The tune started as a low hum that danced through the air peacefully. Gradually, the pace quickened and the loudness increased until nothing else could be heard, not even the sound of the crashing waves just outside. And with one last alarmingly loud note, all was silent, all was dark. all was still.

The man stood almost as still as if he were petrified. Then with a wave of his wand, he cast stream of tiny, shimmering, blue lights about the black room. They twinkled and floated aimlessly like lost little stars trying to find their way back to the heavens. As if pulled by a magnetic charge, the lights began to descend until they lay against the body of the stone girl. Her form flickered brightly when all the lights had fallen against her. And then just as before, all became dark.

The man flipped the lights in the room back on and rushed to the bedside of the girl. He watched as her skin color lightened from ash gray to pale white and her clothes softened into cloth once again. And then he waited, waited for any sign that might indicate life inside the girl's body. Just as he was about to get up and leave, the chest of the young girl heaved upward as she took the first breath she'd had in years. Her hand twitched, and then slowly the lids of her eyes separated and allowed light to enter the dark pupils. She turned her head to the right where the man was kneeling beside her and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Hello, Hermione," the man said softly. "I am your healer."

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**A/N: Sorry about the delay I've been really busy! Please let me know your thoughts in a review they're really helpful! Thanks for reading :)**

**~HarmoniaRose**


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